My general sense of the Tyler Robinson defense team at this point is that they are doing everything they can think of to keep their client alive. Part of that has involved making absurd claims to the court in an effort to drag out this process as long as possible.
The defense spent months arguing that the entire defense team needed to recuse itself because the daughter of one of the attorneys happened to be present in the crowd when Charlie Kirk was shot and killed. Last month judge Tony Graf finally said no to this dubious request.
Robinson’s attorneys urged the judge to remove the Utah County Attorney’s Office because they allowed a deputy county attorney to work on the case despite knowing that his adult daughter was in the audience when Kirk was shot.
The defense also argued in court documents that prosecutors were quick to announce their intent to seek the death penalty, which they said was evidence of “strong emotional reactions” that merited disqualifying the entire team.
State District Judge Tony Graf ruled Tuesday that there is “not a significant risk” that Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander’s loyalty to his daughter will affect his work or interfere with Robinson’s rights.
“Prosecutors need not be immune to the emotional response of others to prosecute a case,” Graf said.
The argument that prosecutors shouldn’t be upset by violent crime is a novel one so far as I know. Isn’t being upset about crime sort of the summary of their job description? This was always a stupid request which did little more than waste the court’s time.
So now the defense has moved on to its next gambit, which is to keep as much of the evidence as possible out of the hands of the media. Today, the judge is holding a hearing to decide whether the next hearing, scheduled for April 17, will be done in secret or in public.
The man accused of killing Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus was back in court Friday as a state judge weighs whether certain documents and proceedings should be open to the public.
The outcome will set the stage for an April hearing in which attorneys for Tyler Robinson will make their case to exclude TV cameras, microphones and photographers from the courtroom.
I had to read two stories about this several times before I understood what the defense is asking today. The April hearing is the one where the judge will decide if the entire trial is held with or without cameras and audio devices. Today’s hearing is just to decide if the April hearing about that topic will be open or closed to the media.
Judge Tony Graf has been weighing the public’s right to know details about the case against concerns by defense attorneys that the media attention could undermine Robinson’s right to a fair trial. Prosecutors, Kirk’s widow and attorneys for news organizations have urged Graf to keep the proceedings open…
Attorneys on Friday are expected to debate whether the defense’s written request to exclude cameras, which was classified by the court as private, should be made public.
The judge will also determine if an April 17 hearing on the matter will be open or partially closed. Robinson’s attorneys argue in court documents that portions of the hearing should be private to avoid republicizing misleading information that they say has come from media and government officials.
Why is the defense eager to keep all of this behind closed doors? They say it’s about “misleading information” but I think they’re more worried about the fact that the entire murder was captured on graphic video. The more that video gets seen, the less likely they are to find jurors willing to help their client avoid the death penalty.
The real problem the defense is facing is that their client is guilty and the evidence against him, including DNA evidence connecting him to the weapon and multiple confessions, is overwhelming. I think they must know his chances of being acquitted are zero at this point, but they are still hoping to find some advantage that might lead prosecutors to back away from pursuing the death penalty. So far they’ve come up empty.
I don’t know if Judge Graf is going to make a ruling today. My guess is he’ll at least take the weekend to consider it, but if there is an update this afternoon I’ll add it below.
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